British Politics and Foreign Policy in the Age of Appeasement, 1935-39

by R.J.Q. Adams

The goal of British governments in the interwar period was balance among the European great powers - balance which would restore peace as well as a British prosperity based once again upon international trade. in the end, these grim years brought only economic depression and the challenge posed by the fascist dictatorships in Germany and Italy. In British Politics and Foreign Policy in the Age of Appeasement, 1935-39, historian R. J. Q. Adams examines the policy of appeasement - so frequently praised as realistic and statesmanlike in its day and commonly condemned as wrong-headed and even wicked in ours. In this exciting and thoroughly accessible work, he explains the motivations and goals of the principal policy-makers: Neville Chamberlain, Lord Halifax, Sir John Simon and Sir Samuel Hoare, and of their major critics: Winston Churchill, Anthony Eden, Duff Cooper and Sir Robert Vansittart. He discloses the myths which obscure our understanding of the Stresa Front, British rearmament, the Anglo-French alliance and the highest moment of appeasement - Munich.

Genres: History

204 pages, Hardcover

First published February 2, 1993

Reviews

[Reading Through the Lists · Rating 4 out of 5]

A self-described 'primer on appeasement' that is well-written and very accessible for those such as myself who know very little about that short but fascinating time in British history. Dr. Adams, with whom I took a British history course this semester, focusing in particular on Neville Chamberlain, who, contrary to modern thought was not a weak, irresolute little man sucked into Hitler's almighty influence but rather a tough, rough-and-tumble Prime Minister who thought he knew exactly the kind of men he was dealing with. Appeasement was not a reactionary movement caused by fear of Hitler but rather an active effort to prevent another war from engulfing Europe and ultimately the world. Dr. Adams covers the years from 1935-1939 and lays out the major actors and the European stage on which they attempted to forge "peace in their time."Unfortunately, it was the the wrong effort and the price for being wrong was a World War.